GtkListStore

GtkListStore — A list-like data structure that can be used with the GtkTreeView

Functions

Types and Values

struct GtkListStore

Object Hierarchy

    GObject
    ╰── GtkListStore

Implemented Interfaces

GtkListStore implements GtkTreeModel, GtkTreeDragSource, GtkTreeDragDest, GtkTreeSortable and GtkBuildable.

Includes

#include <gtk/gtk.h>

Description

The GtkListStore object is a list model for use with a GtkTreeView widget. It implements the GtkTreeModel interface, and consequentialy, can use all of the methods available there. It also implements the GtkTreeSortable interface so it can be sorted by the view. Finally, it also implements the tree drag and drop interfaces.

The GtkListStore can accept most GObject types as a column type, though it can’t accept all custom types. Internally, it will keep a copy of data passed in (such as a string or a boxed pointer). Columns that accept GObjects are handled a little differently. The GtkListStore will keep a reference to the object instead of copying the value. As a result, if the object is modified, it is up to the application writer to call gtk_tree_model_row_changed() to emit the “row_changed” signal. This most commonly affects lists with GdkPixbufs stored.

An example for creating a simple list store:

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enum {
  COLUMN_STRING,
  COLUMN_INT,
  COLUMN_BOOLEAN,
  N_COLUMNS
};

{
  GtkListStore *list_store;
  GtkTreePath *path;
  GtkTreeIter iter;
  gint i;

  list_store = gtk_list_store_new (N_COLUMNS,
                                   G_TYPE_STRING,
                                   G_TYPE_INT,
                                   G_TYPE_BOOLEAN);

  for (i = 0; i < 10; i++)
    {
      gchar *some_data;

      some_data = get_some_data (i);

      // Add a new row to the model
      gtk_list_store_append (list_store, &iter);
      gtk_list_store_set (list_store, &iter,
                          COLUMN_STRING, some_data,
                          COLUMN_INT, i,
                          COLUMN_BOOLEAN,  FALSE,
                          -1);

      // As the store will keep a copy of the string internally,
      // we free some_data.
      g_free (some_data);
    }

  // Modify a particular row
  path = gtk_tree_path_new_from_string ("4");
  gtk_tree_model_get_iter (GTK_TREE_MODEL (list_store),
                           &iter,
                           path);
  gtk_tree_path_free (path);
  gtk_list_store_set (list_store, &iter,
                      COLUMN_BOOLEAN, TRUE,
                      -1);
}

Performance Considerations

Internally, the GtkListStore was implemented with a linked list with a tail pointer prior to GTK+ 2.6. As a result, it was fast at data insertion and deletion, and not fast at random data access. The GtkListStore sets the GTK_TREE_MODEL_ITERS_PERSIST flag, which means that GtkTreeIters can be cached while the row exists. Thus, if access to a particular row is needed often and your code is expected to run on older versions of GTK+, it is worth keeping the iter around.


Atomic Operations

It is important to note that only the methods gtk_list_store_insert_with_values() and gtk_list_store_insert_with_valuesv() are atomic, in the sense that the row is being appended to the store and the values filled in in a single operation with regard to GtkTreeModel signaling. In contrast, using e.g. gtk_list_store_append() and then gtk_list_store_set() will first create a row, which triggers the “row-inserted” signal on GtkListStore. The row, however, is still empty, and any signal handler connecting to “row-inserted” on this particular store should be prepared for the situation that the row might be empty. This is especially important if you are wrapping the GtkListStore inside a GtkTreeModelFilter and are using a GtkTreeModelFilterVisibleFunc. Using any of the non-atomic operations to append rows to the GtkListStore will cause the GtkTreeModelFilterVisibleFunc to be visited with an empty row first; the function must be prepared for that.


GtkListStore as GtkBuildable

The GtkListStore implementation of the GtkBuildable interface allows to specify the model columns with a <columns> element that may contain multiple <column> elements, each specifying one model column. The “type” attribute specifies the data type for the column.

Additionally, it is possible to specify content for the list store in the UI definition, with the <data> element. It can contain multiple <row> elements, each specifying to content for one row of the list model. Inside a <row>, the <col> elements specify the content for individual cells.

Note that it is probably more common to define your models in the code, and one might consider it a layering violation to specify the content of a list store in a UI definition, data, not presentation, and common wisdom is to separate the two, as far as possible.

An example of a UI Definition fragment for a list store:

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<object class="GtkListStore">
  <columns>
    <column type="gchararray"/>
    <column type="gchararray"/>
    <column type="gint"/>
  </columns>
  <data>
    <row>
      <col id="0">John</col>
      <col id="1">Doe</col>
      <col id="2">25</col>
    </row>
    <row>
      <col id="0">Johan</col>
      <col id="1">Dahlin</col>
      <col id="2">50</col>
    </row>
  </data>
</object>

Functions

gtk_list_store_new ()

GtkListStore *
gtk_list_store_new (gint n_columns,
                    ...);

Creates a new list store as with n_columns columns each of the types passed in. Note that only types derived from standard GObject fundamental types are supported.

As an example, gtk_list_store_new (3, G_TYPE_INT, G_TYPE_STRING, GDK_TYPE_PIXBUF); will create a new GtkListStore with three columns, of type int, string and GdkPixbuf respectively.

Parameters

n_columns

number of columns in the list store

 

...

all GType types for the columns, from first to last

 

Returns

a new GtkListStore


gtk_list_store_newv ()

GtkListStore *
gtk_list_store_newv (gint n_columns,
                     GType *types);

Non-vararg creation function. Used primarily by language bindings.

[rename-to gtk_list_store_new]

Parameters

n_columns

number of columns in the list store

 

types

an array of GType types for the columns, from first to last.

[array length=n_columns]

Returns

a new GtkListStore.

[transfer full]


gtk_list_store_set_column_types ()

void
gtk_list_store_set_column_types (GtkListStore *list_store,
                                 gint n_columns,
                                 GType *types);

This function is meant primarily for GObjects that inherit from GtkListStore, and should only be used when constructing a new GtkListStore. It will not function after a row has been added, or a method on the GtkTreeModel interface is called.

Parameters

list_store

A GtkListStore

 

n_columns

Number of columns for the list store

 

types

An array length n of GTypes.

[array length=n_columns]

gtk_list_store_set ()

void
gtk_list_store_set (GtkListStore *list_store,
                    GtkTreeIter *iter,
                    ...);

Sets the value of one or more cells in the row referenced by iter . The variable argument list should contain integer column numbers, each column number followed by the value to be set. The list is terminated by a -1. For example, to set column 0 with type G_TYPE_STRING to “Foo”, you would write gtk_list_store_set (store, iter, 0, "Foo", -1).

The value will be referenced by the store if it is a G_TYPE_OBJECT, and it will be copied if it is a G_TYPE_STRING or G_TYPE_BOXED.

Parameters

list_store

a GtkListStore

 

iter

row iterator

 

...

pairs of column number and value, terminated with -1

 

gtk_list_store_set_valist ()

void
gtk_list_store_set_valist (GtkListStore *list_store,
                           GtkTreeIter *iter,
                           va_list var_args);

See gtk_list_store_set(); this version takes a va_list for use by language bindings.

Parameters

list_store

A GtkListStore

 

iter

A valid GtkTreeIter for the row being modified

 

var_args

va_list of column/value pairs

 

gtk_list_store_set_value ()

void
gtk_list_store_set_value (GtkListStore *list_store,
                          GtkTreeIter *iter,
                          gint column,
                          GValue *value);

Sets the data in the cell specified by iter and column . The type of value must be convertible to the type of the column.

Parameters

list_store

A GtkListStore

 

iter

A valid GtkTreeIter for the row being modified

 

column

column number to modify

 

value

new value for the cell

 

gtk_list_store_set_valuesv ()

void
gtk_list_store_set_valuesv (GtkListStore *list_store,
                            GtkTreeIter *iter,
                            gint *columns,
                            GValue *values,
                            gint n_values);

A variant of gtk_list_store_set_valist() which takes the columns and values as two arrays, instead of varargs. This function is mainly intended for language-bindings and in case the number of columns to change is not known until run-time.

[rename-to gtk_list_store_set]

Parameters

list_store

A GtkListStore

 

iter

A valid GtkTreeIter for the row being modified

 

columns

an array of column numbers.

[array length=n_values]

values

an array of GValues.

[array length=n_values]

n_values

the length of the columns and values arrays

 

Since: 2.12


gtk_list_store_remove ()

gboolean
gtk_list_store_remove (GtkListStore *list_store,
                       GtkTreeIter *iter);

Removes the given row from the list store. After being removed, iter is set to be the next valid row, or invalidated if it pointed to the last row in list_store .

Parameters

list_store

A GtkListStore

 

iter

A valid GtkTreeIter

 

Returns

TRUE if iter is valid, FALSE if not.


gtk_list_store_insert ()

void
gtk_list_store_insert (GtkListStore *list_store,
                       GtkTreeIter *iter,
                       gint position);

Creates a new row at position . iter will be changed to point to this new row. If position is -1 or is larger than the number of rows on the list, then the new row will be appended to the list. The row will be empty after this function is called. To fill in values, you need to call gtk_list_store_set() or gtk_list_store_set_value().

Parameters

list_store

A GtkListStore

 

iter

An unset GtkTreeIter to set to the new row.

[out]

position

position to insert the new row, or -1 for last

 

gtk_list_store_insert_before ()

void
gtk_list_store_insert_before (GtkListStore *list_store,
                              GtkTreeIter *iter,
                              GtkTreeIter *sibling);

Inserts a new row before sibling . If sibling is NULL, then the row will be appended to the end of the list. iter will be changed to point to this new row. The row will be empty after this function is called. To fill in values, you need to call gtk_list_store_set() or gtk_list_store_set_value().

Parameters

list_store

A GtkListStore

 

iter

An unset GtkTreeIter to set to the new row.

[out]

sibling

A valid GtkTreeIter, or NULL.

[allow-none]

gtk_list_store_insert_after ()

void
gtk_list_store_insert_after (GtkListStore *list_store,
                             GtkTreeIter *iter,
                             GtkTreeIter *sibling);

Inserts a new row after sibling . If sibling is NULL, then the row will be prepended to the beginning of the list. iter will be changed to point to this new row. The row will be empty after this function is called. To fill in values, you need to call gtk_list_store_set() or gtk_list_store_set_value().

Parameters

list_store

A GtkListStore

 

iter

An unset GtkTreeIter to set to the new row.

[out]

sibling

A valid GtkTreeIter, or NULL.

[allow-none]

gtk_list_store_insert_with_values ()

void
gtk_list_store_insert_with_values (GtkListStore *list_store,
                                   GtkTreeIter *iter,
                                   gint position,
                                   ...);

Creates a new row at position . iter will be changed to point to this new row. If position is -1, or larger than the number of rows in the list, then the new row will be appended to the list. The row will be filled with the values given to this function.

Calling gtk_list_store_insert_with_values (list_store, iter, position...) has the same effect as calling

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static void
insert_value (GtkListStore *list_store,
              GtkTreeIter  *iter,
              int           position)
{
  gtk_list_store_insert (list_store, iter, position);
  gtk_list_store_set (list_store,
                      iter
                      // ...
                      );
}

with the difference that the former will only emit a row_inserted signal, while the latter will emit row_inserted, row_changed and, if the list store is sorted, rows_reordered. Since emitting the rows_reordered signal repeatedly can affect the performance of the program, gtk_list_store_insert_with_values() should generally be preferred when inserting rows in a sorted list store.

Parameters

list_store

A GtkListStore

 

iter

An unset GtkTreeIter to set to the new row, or NULL.

[out][allow-none]

position

position to insert the new row, or -1 to append after existing rows

 

...

pairs of column number and value, terminated with -1

 

Since: 2.6


gtk_list_store_insert_with_valuesv ()

void
gtk_list_store_insert_with_valuesv (GtkListStore *list_store,
                                    GtkTreeIter *iter,
                                    gint position,
                                    gint *columns,
                                    GValue *values,
                                    gint n_values);

A variant of gtk_list_store_insert_with_values() which takes the columns and values as two arrays, instead of varargs. This function is mainly intended for language-bindings.

Parameters

list_store

A GtkListStore

 

iter

An unset GtkTreeIter to set to the new row, or NULL.

[out][allow-none]

position

position to insert the new row, or -1 for last

 

columns

an array of column numbers.

[array length=n_values]

values

an array of GValues.

[array length=n_values]

n_values

the length of the columns and values arrays

 

Since: 2.6


gtk_list_store_prepend ()

void
gtk_list_store_prepend (GtkListStore *list_store,
                        GtkTreeIter *iter);

Prepends a new row to list_store . iter will be changed to point to this new row. The row will be empty after this function is called. To fill in values, you need to call gtk_list_store_set() or gtk_list_store_set_value().

Parameters

list_store

A GtkListStore

 

iter

An unset GtkTreeIter to set to the prepend row.

[out]

gtk_list_store_append ()

void
gtk_list_store_append (GtkListStore *list_store,
                       GtkTreeIter *iter);

Appends a new row to list_store . iter will be changed to point to this new row. The row will be empty after this function is called. To fill in values, you need to call gtk_list_store_set() or gtk_list_store_set_value().

Parameters

list_store

A GtkListStore

 

iter

An unset GtkTreeIter to set to the appended row.

[out]

gtk_list_store_clear ()

void
gtk_list_store_clear (GtkListStore *list_store);

Removes all rows from the list store.

Parameters

list_store

a GtkListStore.

 

gtk_list_store_iter_is_valid ()

gboolean
gtk_list_store_iter_is_valid (GtkListStore *list_store,
                              GtkTreeIter *iter);

This function is slow. Only use it for debugging and/or testing purposes.

Checks if the given iter is a valid iter for this GtkListStore.

Parameters

list_store

A GtkListStore.

 

iter

A GtkTreeIter.

 

Returns

TRUE if the iter is valid, FALSE if the iter is invalid.

Since: 2.2


gtk_list_store_reorder ()

void
gtk_list_store_reorder (GtkListStore *store,
                        gint *new_order);

Reorders store to follow the order indicated by new_order . Note that this function only works with unsorted stores.

Parameters

store

A GtkListStore.

 

new_order

an array of integers mapping the new position of each child to its old position before the re-ordering, i.e. new_order [newpos] = oldpos. It must have exactly as many items as the list store’s length.

[array zero-terminated=1]

Since: 2.2


gtk_list_store_swap ()

void
gtk_list_store_swap (GtkListStore *store,
                     GtkTreeIter *a,
                     GtkTreeIter *b);

Swaps a and b in store . Note that this function only works with unsorted stores.

Parameters

store

A GtkListStore.

 

a

A GtkTreeIter.

 

b

Another GtkTreeIter.

 

Since: 2.2


gtk_list_store_move_before ()

void
gtk_list_store_move_before (GtkListStore *store,
                            GtkTreeIter *iter,
                            GtkTreeIter *position);

Moves iter in store to the position before position . Note that this function only works with unsorted stores. If position is NULL, iter will be moved to the end of the list.

Parameters

store

A GtkListStore.

 

iter

A GtkTreeIter.

 

position

A GtkTreeIter, or NULL.

[allow-none]

Since: 2.2


gtk_list_store_move_after ()

void
gtk_list_store_move_after (GtkListStore *store,
                           GtkTreeIter *iter,
                           GtkTreeIter *position);

Moves iter in store to the position after position . Note that this function only works with unsorted stores. If position is NULL, iter will be moved to the start of the list.

Parameters

store

A GtkListStore.

 

iter

A GtkTreeIter.

 

position

A GtkTreeIter or NULL.

[allow-none]

Since: 2.2

Types and Values

struct GtkListStore

struct GtkListStore;

See Also

GtkTreeModel, GtkTreeStore